Political Empowerment, Rule of Law, and Women's Entry into Entrepreneurship

Women's political leadership may contribute to women's entrepreneurship by removing existing constraints on the economic behavior of women, assuming these changes are then enforced. We examine the association of women's political power and a country's rule of law with women's entrepreneurial entry, using the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor dataset combined with other indicators. Both variables are positively associated with women's entry into entrepreneurship, and the association between political empowerment. Entry into entrepreneurship is moderated by rule of law, with higher levels of women's political power having greater effects in countries with higher levels of rule of law. Implications are discussed.